There is something surreal about the sight of National Guard troops quartered within the hallowed halls of the United States Capitol Building. Then the next day we are treated to frantic indignant news stories about those troops “relegated” to the dingy and frigid bowels of a parking garage. Biden apologizes to National Guard chief after 5,000 soldiers had to reportedly sleep in a DC parking garage with only one bathroom (msn.com)
Then, we hear that no one seems to know just Who ordered the soldiers that protect our nation from terror threats and assorted idiots in funny clown suits beating police officers with hockey sticks and fire extinguishers…but I digress. Did the Bad Democrats commit this outrage? No, in fact the Dems not only did NOT order the move from the cushy capitol, they actually ordered COTS for the troops so that they did not have to sleep on the cold marble floor of the Capitol Rotunda…never mind the parking garage with its concrete floor. It turns out that the parking garage is insulated and heated anyway.
The United States National Guard units keep a relatively low bar most of the time, out of sight of the public unless there is a need for disaster control. Remember Hurricane Katrina in 2005, when the Louisiana National Guard troops were actively fighting foreign enemies over in Afghanistan (having been nationalized by President George W Bush…and therefore unavailable for disaster control duty in their own state? But fortunately neighboring states (Mississippi, I think,) sent in THEIR National Guard troops when asked, showing the versatility and cooperation between states.
There are restrictions to the “calling in of the Guard” which strictly limit jurisdiction. Right now there are Guard troops manning diverse points of need, deployed in various states in food banks, prisons, immunization centers…I won’t even attempt to address the wide duties of the National Guard. in this brief blog post.
SOMETIMES 